The Horse Dancer

source: The Horse Dancer

Started out hopeful that this would be a nice evening feelgood movie but it was just lots of shouting and noise.. Fast forwarded but didn't still no good.

I love gymnastic movies but this one did not transition very well. It goes from a gymnast to a horse vaulter and Miss Jessica lowkey drove me nuts. Camps are one thing but when you have counselors who are high strung it ruins everything. It brings the maturity level down tremendously.

Oh dear, this movie leaves a lot to be desired. The grandmother's acting was actually painful it was so bad, although the terrible lines written for her can't have helped. The whole campfire songs and announcement stuff was embarrassing. I was a girl guide and we sang songs at camp but there wasn't all the shrieking and forced jollity. Still, I can see how American kids might be more into that sort of thing so I'll let that go as it's probably just me. By the way, why were they all girls? Were boys not allowed at the camp? For a horse camp there didn't seem to be an awful lot of knowledge about horses and this really grated on me. The girl who was described several times as 'the best rider in camp' could barely stay on at a walk and at one point when she was riding with the other 'veteran camper' (Lisa?) who was stiff as a board and hanging on to her almost stationary mount's mouth, both the horses appeared to be lame. The poor horses also seemed to be cross-tied day and night with no access to any food or water or opportunity to move around. I do hope that isn't true to life in American stables! The last bit of the movie was the icing on the cake as they shot a video with a stunt double who looked much bigger and more muscular than the actress, and the way it was shot made it so obvious it wasn't the same person with every pose showing only the back of her head or an arm! I must admit I don't really understand how the video 'saved' the ranch. I realise they got a lot of bookings for the following summer but that wouldn't have solved the immediate problems of the debts and how to feed the horses over the winter. I understood there was some kind of sponsorship deal but then the video was shot in a field with not an advertising banner in sight so I'm not sure how that worked. But then logic was in short supply throughout the movie, from the whole 'Olympic letter' thing onwards. The posh girl said right at the beginning 'but I only ride {name of horse I've forgotten} and then later on she claimed to have ridden Orion for years in the woods! Still, it looked like a nice place, and I guess if you are a ten year old girl who loves ponies but knows nothing about them then this movie might be fun to watch.

This movie is about a girl who is very disciplined and a high achiever, but lacks social skills, because she is too busy to make friends. I enjoyed this movie.

I really liked the character Lisa Gold. She was always upbeat and keep things positive. The scenery was great and it looks like a lovely place to get away. But that's where it stops. The director was terrible, I think if they had a better one and a better writer too. The movie would have been so much more. The other actresses were only kids/teens/young adults. So I'm sure they didn't have much practice in acting, but it was kind of forced. d

I was hoping this movie would be good because I felt like the premise had a great deal of potential. Like others have stated, the acting was bad but that wasn't really my biggest issue with the characters. I don't know if it was a casting issue or if the director intended this, but aside from the Lisa character I found none of the main characters to really be likable at any point in the movie. Usually in movies like this when characters start off as obnoxious or stand-offish, there's that golden moment where someone or something touches their heart and then they become warm and likable. That never fully happened with these characters, in my opinion. Maybe other people felt differently but my opinion of these characters never truly changed all that much throughout the movie. I didn't even like that perky head counselor lady. I found her to be a terrible phony. Also... what kind of place calls for a search party for a missing minor up to the point where they're getting ready to search the bottom of a lake, and doesn't call the girl's mom?!

It should have been a good movie. The premise was there...but the script was horrible and the acting worse. Why is Samantha such a princess? Why is her Mom such a ditz? Who gets an Olympic Trial letter in the mail?! There are so many plot holes and ridiculous jumps I am amazed this turkey was released. My 6yr old grandson, who loves horse movies, didn't last 20 minutes. I continued watching, because I kept HOPING it would get better. It just got worse...the "panic" filled search for a missing "grief stricken" Samantha ( seriously?!?!? Can we just say Barney Fife would have been more convincing) and then the sudden and miraculous performance of :The Horse Dancer...ugh. This is a couple hours I'll never get back. DON'T waste your time!

This is the single worst movie I think I've ever seen in my entire life. There are zero, I repeat, zero redeeming qualities. Bad acting, poor writing, shameful directing... save yourself some brain cells and don't watch it. You're welcome.

Whoever made this don't make another movie. acting sucks movie sucks in general.